Mainstream, local acts will hit the stage at Wiggins Park on July 25

he 2014 edition of the Xponential Music Festival is poised to take over the local music scene from July 25 to 27. Set in Wiggins Park along the Delaware River next to the Camden Aquarium with concerts at the Susquehanna Bank Center, the event is hosted by WXPN radio, the event showcases a wide range of performers including area musicians. The festival, sponsored by Subaru, is the highlight of the radio station’s calendar; a celebration for the member-supported listening audience, and features both national and local acts, according to radio host Helen Leicht.

“It’s very difficult to select just a few of our great local singers/songwriters and bands,” said Leicht, who helps book and promote many of the local and national acts via her radio show and input to Xponential Fest. “But I think it’s a good problem to have. The goal is to have a diverse line up. My favorite part of the festival is to give our local artists a chance to play in front of a large crowd. Connecting artists with an audience; every year that is exactly what happens,” she said. Here’s a brief look at four acts scheduled to perform:

Man Man is a critically acclaimed Philly band with a very offbeat sound. Indie rock is too easy a label to slap on them and isn’t quite appropriate, but they have a fine musicality that perches precariously between construction and deconstruction. Some might think of them as the clashing color that makes the outfit work. Ryan Honus wrote to me about Xponential Fest after a harsh encounter with some Tennessee hot chicken. “Hopefully someone hears one our songs, falls in love with it, and then spreads it like wildfire. Like coughing on an airplane or starting a wildfire.” Effortlessly quipping along he adds, “Take note of how stable the scaffolding is for climbing.” One wonders if Man Man intends to repel onto the stage. “Sometimes I wish we could only play festivals. I love performing for people who are into what we do, but get even more psyched when it’s playing to people who have no idea what to expect,” he said.

Man Man has the future in mind these days. “Pow and I are already working on tunes for the next album. Hope to have something out by sometime next year. I think we may have already written next summer’s single but we need to finesse it more; burp the baby so to speak,” Honus said. “Philly is in our blood,” he said and feels that it will be more than just another stop on the tour.

Ginger Coyle has quite a different story on her way to Xponential Fest.

“My road to this festival actually began 15 years ago,” she said. “I was just freshman in high school when my father sent my two-song demo CD to the station. One morning while I was in English class I got a call to go to the office where the secretary told me that my father called and wanted me to know that my song ‘Truly Mine’ was just played on the radio. Since that day I’ve continued to hone my craft. It’s been a lot of hard work, persistence, ups, downs, milestones, mistakes, and growth as both a performer and businesswoman. During this journey I was signed to a major label, eventually dropped, and for now I’m doing things independently.”

Coyle has musical chops ranging from jazz to singer songwriter pop, and I met her via Melody Gardot several years ago. Here’s how she got back in the game. “After my EP ‘Homeward Bound’ released in May 2012, I was feeling a bit frustrated in the weeks to follow because the record wasn’t seeming to get any attention. I am an avid listener and member of WXPN. One afternoon Helen Leicht announced she would be at World Cafe Live that night to celebrate Sir Paul McCartney’s 70th Birthday. She would be cohosting the open mic with some featured performers. Anyone could sign up to play, but it had to be a McCartney tune. I thought, if I could just play in front of her, make an